A Cold Winter's Night
by AhmoseInarus
Summary: Let Me In: 36 - H/R - Hotch is on his way home with Jack and Henry after agreeing to take them for the weekend. Reid is at home making dinner. Just a short little warm and fuzzy fic.
1. Chapter 1

A Cold Winter's Night

Ahmose Inarus

Disclaimer: NO OWN. PISS OFF.

SLASH Hotch/Reid

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><p>Quantico, Virginia<p>

Late November

Early Afternoon

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><p>Young genius Dr. Spencer Reid, the most brilliant mind of the FBI, stood and looked over the supplies before him. He glanced down at the instructions given to him by one Jennifer Jareau, and double checked (okay, by now it was quintuple) that he had every thing. He did. He set the paper down and turned, tied an apron around his waist, (God forbid any one ever see him in it) then washed his hands and turned to face the daunting task before him. He cracked his knuckles, rubbed his hands, and reached out. He seized the two pounds of sliced beef he had purchased from the store earlier that morning. He tossed it into a mixing bowl and put on a teaspoon of salt, pepper and Lawry's Seasoned Salt. Then, cringing and letting out a disgusted whine, he began to mix it into the meat with his bare hands.<p>

When the spices were distributed evenly (enough), he washed his hands put a table spoon of Olive Oil into the large pan on the stove a browned the meat in two batches, putting the now cooked meat into a fresh bowl. Into the hot meat, he put two tablespoons of butter, delighted to find that the wrapper on the stick of butter showed him just how much two tablespoons was. He let it melt in the heat of the meat. And as he did that, he turned to the crock pot. He dumped in three tablespoons of flour, one and a half of salt, and one fourth teaspoon each of All Spice, Oregano, Basil and Thyme. Then he added the two tablespoons of tomato paste and olive oil each, and three cups of beef stock. He seized a whisk and mixed up the concoction, then dumped the meat and melted butter in, stirring again.

Then he turned and picked up the knife, chopping up a small package of brown mushrooms before adding those to the pot. He slowly stirred everything, then covered the crock pot, set it to HIGH and then turned to wash the dishes he had dirtied. Then he returned to the cutting board. He got out some carrots and a little bag of small golden potatoes, about a pounds worth. He washed them and cut them into bite sized pieces, then turned and began to slice the carrots until he had about a cup's worth. He set these aside and looked at the clock… still had thirty minutes before he could add those… He sighed and walked into the study, plopping down with a book.

He finished two novels, then returned to the kitchen. He dumped the potatoes and carrots into the pot, stirred, and then covered it again, setting the timer. Then he returned to the study to take a nap. Cooking was hard!

He was woken by the alarm three hours later. He quickly hurried into the kitchen and began to chop a white onion and celery until he had a cup of each. This was dumped into the crock pot, stirred and the lid was replaced. Then he took the frozen peas out of the freezer and left them out to thaw. Then he chopped up some fresh parsley until he had about two table spoons. Then he turned and pulled some apple cider out of the fridge. He poured about six cups into a pot on the stove and turned it on, beginning to heat the cider, stirring from time to time. Once it was at a good steam, he pulled some little red hot candies from the pantry and dumped about a tablespoon into the cider and stirred as they melted and dissolved. He closed his eyes and inhaled the wonderful smells filling the kitchen.

He spooned up a bit of the cider and sipped it, smiling at the taste. Then he pulled out some apples from the fridge and began to slice them up, laying them in a pan. He sprinkled cinnamon over them with a few thin slices of butter, then took a box of yellow cake mix from the pantry. He dumped it into the pan and pat it down lightly. Then he began to slice the butter and lay the slices over the top of the cake mix until it was completely covered. Then he stuck that into the oven for half an hour. Then he began to set the table, peering out the window at the falling snow. And just in time…

He watched the car coming down the street, and pull into the driveway. Then it disappeared into the garage. Grinning, Reid grabbed two small cups and put a bit of cider into them, and then hurried to the door. A moment later, it opened.

"Hey!" He called.

"Spencer!" Came the excited squeal, and both Jack Hotchner and Henry Jareau-LaMontagne charged through the door and threw their arms around Reid's knees. Reid smiled down at them, gave them their cider, then looked up at the man following them.

"Hey, Spencer." Hotch greeted with a smile. He walked over and greeted the young man with a gentle kiss. "what smells so good?"

"Dinner. Can you get the boys cleaned up and ready?" Reid asked over the loud "MMMM!" that the boys were letting out at their hot cider.

"Hey now… I had them all day in the snow!" Hotch cried, trying to scowl.

"… Okay, okay… you take Jack, I'll take Henry."

"Deal." Hotch nodded, and Reid took Henry's hand.

"Let's go take a bath!" Reid told him.

"I wanna go with Jack!" Henry whined. Hotch chuckled.

"How about YOU start getting them cleaned up while I clean up, and when I'm done, I'll come help you finish." Hotch suggested. Reid gave him a look, but then nodded in agreement.

"Okay guys." Reid said, giving Hotch the empty cups and then snagging both children by their scarves. "Into Jack's room! Come on!" And he began to herd the children away, looking slightly panicked as he did so. Hotch chuckled… children made Reid nervous… even Jack and Henry. At first, he made them nervous, too… sometimes he still did. The awkward moments were numerous when the kids were around… but sometimes, those two (especially when they got together) specifically did things to make Reid even MORE nervous.

Hotch tossed the cups into the kitchen sink and ran up the stairs as he considered this, determined to get washed up sooner rather than later, for the sake of his lover's nerves. He stripped and stepped into a hot shower, washing up, shaving, then stepping out and toweling himself dry. He then pulled on a pair of boxers, an old pair of soft-worn jeans, some cozy socks and a black turtleneck with a dark red sweater over it. Then he trotted down the stairs and headed into Jack's room. He promptly heard splashing and laughter. He walked into the bathroom, and grinned.

"You look like that Yorkie down the street when she fell into the pond." He laughed, and a drenched Reid glared at him. "Go on. Go shower." Hotch said, and Reid stormed out of the bathroom to do so. Hotch just leaned against the doorway and stared at the two little boys in the bath rub. "come on now." He told them. "Uncle Spencer worked very hard to make us dinner. Let's get cleaned up and enjoy it, and let him know how grateful we are, okay? He's not very good in the kitchen, and he must have worked very, VERY hard."

"Okay, daddy." Jack said. Henry gave one more good splash, and then settled down. Hotch oversaw the rest of their bath, getting dried off and into their onsie pajamas. Then, smiling, he took their hands and led them to the kitchen. Reid looked up from where he stood by the crock pot, ladling the beef stew into bowls.

"That smells amazing, Spencer." Hotch said, smiling. Reid looked at him, and gave him a beaming smile.

"Thank you." He said, setting down two bowls before the little boys.

"EWWW!" Jack whined. "There are PEAS!"

"Mushroom! EW!" Henry shrieked. Reid blinked, startled, but Hotch just chuckled.

"Try it. You'll like it." He said, but the two little boys protested loudly.

"How about this." Hotch said. "Try it. And if you don't like it… You can have popcorn with your movie before bed, okay?" The little boy's exchanged looks, then dug their spoons into the stew, and tried it. Hotch and Reid both grinned when little eyes lit up.

"MMMM!" they both hummed in approval.

"Do you like it?" Reid asked, and they nodded eagerly.

"alright then. No popcorn with your movie." The little boys blinked, then drooped. "Instead…" Reid continued, smiling, "Because you were brave and you tried it… AND liked it… You get to have Apple Crisp with ice cream for dessert!"

The children erupted into boisterous cheers.

"Nicely handled." Hotch complemented, chuckling as Reid set a bowl down before him, sitting by his side.

"Only one bit of JJ's advice that I got when we agreed to take Henry for the weekend." Reid grinned, offering Hotch a flakey butter roll, then giving the boys one each.

"Oh wow… this IS good!" Hotch said, turning a pleased look on the young man beside him. Reid was smiling and blushing, stirring his own bowl before sipping some of the thick stew.

"Mmmm…" Reid sighed, closing his eyes.

"Oh, the cider is good, too."

"Thank you."

"You're such a wonderful homemaker."

"… Watch it. Or I'll make sure you have no matching socks." Reid growled, and Hotch grinned. They devoured the stew like men both starving and freezing. Hotch even went back for seconds. Then he went to put on a movie for the boys while Reid prepared dessert, and while the boys were watching 'A Bug's Life', Hotch helped Reid put away the leftovers and clear the kitchen. They had their own dessert at the kitchen table, hearing the movie playing in the back ground.

"So…" Hotch said. "If we don't have a case… Sean has invited us to Thanksgiving Dinner at his place in New York next week. He'll take us to see the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade."

"That's very kind of him. Sounds good." Reid smiled, and Hotch nodded. They headed out to the living room, and to their amusement, Jack and Henry were fast asleep. Hotch scooped up Jack and Reid got Henry, and they carried the boys into Jack's room, and tucked them into the little bed together, side by side. Then as Hotch turned out the light, Reid flicked on the night light. Then they turned off the TV, cleaned up the living room and headed upstairs to bed, fingers entwined. They got into their pajamas and brushed their teeth before sliding into bed.

They were woken up a couple of hours later by Jack and Henry. The wind was howling outside, tree branches rattling, and the children were babbling on about scary things in the dark of the back yard. And so after calming them, Hotch and Reid allowed them to snuggle under the covers with them, and they all drifted into the warm comfort of dreamland, as the frigid storm raged outside of their safe and cozy house.

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><p>Just a little short story for you.<p>

Please check out my poll on my profile, and PLEASE REVIEW!


	2. Reid's Stew Recipe!

A lot of people have asked me for the recipe of the stew that Reid made in this story… so, here it is!

DISCLAIMER: this is a modified version of Emeril's Beef Stew. I took his recipe and altered it a little bit to suit my own tastes, but it comes out SO good! Feel free to add or subtract things to suit yourself.

Beef Stew a la Spencer Reid!

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon Lawry's Season Salt

1 teaspoon cracked black pepper

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 pound button mushrooms, thinly sliced

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

3 cups veal or beef stock, at room temperature

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 teaspoon of minced Garlic

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon dried basil

1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

1 pound of potatoes, chopped into bite sized pieces

1 cup diced carrots

1 cup sliced celery

1 yellow or white onion, diced

1/2 cup frozen green peas, thawed

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley leaves

Directions

Set a 12-inch saute pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil to the pan and season the beef with 1 teaspoon of the salt, 1 teaspoon Essence and 1/2 teaspoon of the black pepper. Sear the beef (in 2 batches) in the pan for about 2 or 3 minutes per side, or until evenly browned.

Add the butter, mushrooms, flour, beef stock, tomato paste, minced garlic, herbs, spices, and browned meat to a slow cooker. Cover the slow cooker and set the temperature to high. Cook for 1 hour. Add the potatoes and carrots and continue to cook the stew for another 4-7 hours, depending on your slow cooker. During the last hour of cooking, add the celery and onions and replace the lid. Once the stew is cooked, stir in the peas and parsley and serve immediately.

*** sometimes, I like to add a bit of Creole Spice just to give it a kick!

This stew goes very well with flaky golden butter rolls. If you live in Central Texas, I highly recommend shopping at HEB. It has these rolls, and their meat and produce is top notch!

Enjoy making this stew on a cold day, and let me know how it goes!

Much Love and a Happy New Year!

~Inarus


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